The invention relates to an expandable fiber trough for protecting fibers and, in particular, to an expandable trough having a bend limiting feature.
In the telecommunications industry, wires, including fiber optic cables, are often housed in and connected to shelves, cabinets or other storage articles. The fibers in the shelves are accessed by sliding the shelf out to expose the fiber connections. Because the shelves are movable, some slack is provided in the fibers to prevent them from being detached from the connectors housed in the shelf. However, this extra length of fiber can cause the fibers to become tangled and/or excessively bent when of the shelf is closed. Excessive bending can cause the fibers to become damaged or inoperative resulting in unnecessary expense and maintenance.
Therefore, there is a desire and need to provide an apparatus for preventing the tangling and excessive bending of fiber cables in such shelves.
The present invention overcomes shortcomings of the prior art. According to the present invention, a cable organizer and bend-limiting device generally comprises a plurality of links interconnected at pivots to permit the links to rotate about pivots and thus form a flexible trough or channel capable of being moved into and out of a variety of serpentine shapes and paths. Each of the links preferably include a passageway for retaining one or more cables. The passageway is preferably defined by a base, a first sidewall extending from a side of the base, and a second sidewall extending from an opposite side of the base. The rotation of the links about the pivots is limited to a distance between the respective first and second sidewalls of connected links, so as to limit the bending of the passageway. Consequently, the bending of the cable(s) retained therein is limited to a desired radius of curvature, and the trough-like shape formed by the interconnected links aids in keeping the fibers organized, untangled and securely maintained as the storage shelf is opened or closed.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the links are connected to one another through the engagement of male and female members, which extend from opposite ends of the links. Preferably, the links may be releasably snapped together so as to provide simple assembly and flexible length configuration. The connection forms a pivot about which each of the links can rotate relative to the other link to which it is connected. The rotation is preferably about an axis perpendicular to the base. The base, first sidewall, and second sidewall define a passageway or trough through which a cable or group of cables may be fed and retained to prevent over-bending, tangling, or pinching of the cables. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9ccablexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccablesxe2x80x9d refers to any cable, wire, conductor, fiber optic cable, and the like, or other flexible elongated structure or member needing to be organized in a manner described herein.
In a fully extended condition, the sidewalls of each of the links are spaced from the respective sidewalls of the adjacent link, thereby permitting the links to rotate about the pivot connections. The distance between the respective sidewalls determines the angle that the links can sweep before abutting one another and limiting the bend of the passageway. By decreasing or increasing this distance, the desired radius of curvature can be similarly decreased or increased. Moreover, the first and second sidewalls may be bowed into the passageway at a radius of curvature substantially equally to the desired radius of curvature of the bend-limiting device to further facilitate the bending of the passageway to a desired radius of curvature. As will become apparent from the teachings herein, any number of links may be connected depending on the particular application of the bend-limiting device.
Because the radius of curvature can be pre-determined to accommodate particular types of cables, the present invention advantageously prevents delicate cables and/or fibers from being over-bent during the opening and closing of cable shelves.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings, which are not to scale, are designed solely for the purpose of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims.